PARENTS: TRADITIONAL FAIRY TALES TOO SCARY

More and more parents are scrapping those traditional fairy tales most of us grew up with saying they're just too scary for their young kids. New research revealed one in five parents has scrapped classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in favor of more modern books. One third of parents said children have been left in tears after hearing the gruesome details of Little Red Riding Hood and nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and execution. And 52% of parents said Cinderella didn't send a good message to their children as it portrays a young woman doing housework all day.

POPULAR STORES THAT MAY SOON CLOSE

If the economic doldrums forced you to put off buying new jeans at the Gap or picking up that cute sweater at Talbots, these two stores and six others are suffering because of it. Here are the cold, hard facts: About 3,000 retail chain stores were shuttered last year and many others are struggling to stay afloat in 2012. While J.C. Penney and Macy's are barely treading water and Sears is really struggling, other smaller stores are suffering even more. Forbes has assembled a list of the eight stores where you may not be able to shop in 2012:

1. Blockbuster
Stores Closing: 405. Percent of Total Stores: 23.8 percent

2. Gap
Stores Closing: 189. Percent of Total Stores: 20.9 percent

3. Charming Shoppes (parent of Lane Bryant)
Stores Closing: 240. Percent of Total Stores: 12.1 percent

4. Stride Right
Stores Closing: 75. Percent of Total Stores: 19.6 percent

5. Talbots
Stores Closing: 100. Percent of Total Stores: 18 percent

6. AJ Wright
Stores Closing: 71. Percent of Total Stores: 100 percent

7. Friendly's
Stores Closing: 63. Percent of Total Stores: 12.9 percent

8. Abercrombie & Fitch
Stores Closing: 49. Percent of Total Stores: 15.5 percent 


FACEBOOK MAKES PEOPLE MORE PRODUCTIVE?

Facebook might not be a time suck after all. A new study shows Web browsing could boost your work performance. People had better focus and productivity after taking a 10 minute break to poke around online. "That is more pleasurable and rejuvenating than checking e-mail, which is cognitively more demanding," says study coauthor Vivien Kim Geok Lim, Ph.D. Keep your mind sharp on busy days by taking a few virtual breaks.

SEVEN STUPID SIMPLE WAYS TO EAT LESS

From Men's Health magazine, it is not easy being green, but it can be easy to be lean. Here is how:

1. Grin yourself thin
To maintain a healthy weight, do something to make yourself smile. Scientists in Brazil say serotonin, the "happy hormone," reduces appetite, and higher levels of it make you more likely to burn fat.

2. Crack some nuts
In an Eastern Illinois University study, people who were given shelled pistachios ate 211 calories' worth while those who had the in-shell variety, the ones you crack open, consumed only 125 calories in the same sitting.

3. Put a fork in it
Your non-dominant hand, that is. You will be more mindful of what you are eating and probably end up consuming less. Using chopsticks works, too , especially if you are not a pro. Just have plenty of napkins on hand.

4. Use a cheat plate
With The Portion Plate, $12 on their Web site (http://www.theportionplate.com) you see partitions for meat, a quarter of the plate, whole grains, another quarter, and fruits and vegetables half the plate, along with pictures of foods in the proper serving sizes to guide you.

5. Add bison to your protein herd
Grill up a 3 ounce buffalo steak every now and then. It has only 148 calories and 4 grams of fat. Plus, the 26 grams of lean protein in that bison steak can keep you satisfied enough to decline dessert.

6. Be an early bird
Late risers not only eat more calories almost 200 more at dinner and another 375 after 8 p.m. but also eat more unhealthily than those who wake up around 8 a.m., according to a Northwestern University study.

7. Eat with a woman
Men consume 37 percent less when they eat with a wife or girlfriend than when they dine out with their buddies, according to researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS U.S. CITIES

A murder occurs almost every day in Detroit. With 345 murders reported in the Detroit metropolitan area in 2010, this crime-ridden city made the top of the list when Forbes ranked the most dangerous U.S. cities. The Motor City is troubled. Both the population and employment rates have dropped precipitously as residents flee Detroit, leaving the city's coffers strapped for even basic funding of education and public services. The top 10 most dangerous U.S. cities:

1. Detroit, Michigan
Detroit has long been one of America's most crime-ridden cities, and low unemployment has made it worse with 1,111 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

2. Memphis, Tennessee
Chronic poverty -- 19 percent of residents live below the poverty line--plays a major role in crime in Memphis with 1,006 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

3. Springfield, Illinois
Experts are at a loss to explain Springfield's high crime--855 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

4. Flint, Michigan
A lousy local economy and a high unemployment rate have fueled crime. Flint had 827 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

5. Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage has 813 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, including the highest rate of forcible rape in the state.

6. Lubbock, Texas
With 808 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Scary!

7. Stockton, California
With 805 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, Stockton suffers from its location on one of the nation's many drug transit routes. Gangs compete for turf, and that fuels the violence.

8. Tallahassee, Florida
Located on I-10, this is an attractive city for drug runners bringing contraband north from Miami. Tallahassee has 775 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

9. Las Vegas, Nevada
Sin City has 763 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, including 4,696 robberies and 9,296 aggravated assaults. Experts blame much of it on the instability and population churn caused by the housing bust.

10. Rockford, Illinois
The city's location near large interstate highways and its proximity to Chicago make it attractive as a waypoint for drug carriers. Rockford had 760 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

There is good news: While it's commonly expected that crime rates will rise as economic conditions worsen, that has not been the case in the U.S. where violent crime has fallen for the past four years, notes Forbes magazine.

AN EXCUSE FOR WINE DRINKING

If you are looking for an excuse (and the Throwdown knows that you are)... Drink up. Grapes and the wine made from them can help protect your skin from sun damage. According to researchers at the University of Barcelona, the flavonoids in grapes can stop the chemical reaction that causes skin to die. Says biochemist Maria Cascante, who directed the study: "This supports the idea of using these products to protect the skin from cell damage and death caused by solar radiation, as well as increasing our understanding of the mechanism by which they act."

STUDY: GUYS ARE BETTER AT CARING FOR VEHICLES THAN THEMSELVES

Oil changed? Checked. Tires inflated? Yes sir. Blood pressure, heart rate, testosterone levels who knows? A recent survey reveals that an incredible 70 percent of men find it easier to care for their cars. Why? "When a boy is 5 years old and skins his knee, he is told that big boys do not cry," says Scott Williams, vice president of Men's Health Network, who commissioned the survey. "Fast-forward to adulthood and chest pain evokes the same dismissive reaction." But denying changing health requirements can be dangerous, experts say. "At age 40," warns Dr. Harry Fisch, urologist and clinical professor of medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College, "the body begins to change and men are past the maintenance free years."


YEAH, THAT REALLY IS YOU ON FACEBOOK
All those photos you post on Facebook- from playing with your kids to having fun at a football game to getting drunk at a party- actually paint a fairly accurate picture of your personality, according to researchers from Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, CA. The more candid a shot, the more nuances of your personality show through. 

By the way, if you haven't "liked" our Facebook Fan Page, you can do so here...

ABSOLUTELY THE WRONG PLACE TO THROW A PUNCH

You might say 30-year-old Misty Lawson of Kentucky has got some problems. On her Facebook page she describes herself as a "professional baby maker" and says, "I am a good person but a lil rough around da edges. I have a hot temper wit a short fuse." Well that short fuse got her arrested for allegedly punching her 10-year-old son in the face – DURING THE MIDDLE OF AN ANGER MANAGEMENT COURSE! She reportedly punched her son in the face and body several times during an in-home, state-mandated class aimed at curbing her anger. Police said that the assault left the boy with a knuckle-shaped imprint on his face, all because he allegedly called his mom the "b-word." Luckily, a counselor witnessed the alleged assault and called police, who reported the incident to Child Protective Services. Ms. Lawson has a long rap sheet to go with her newest arrest, including possession of stolen property, marijuana possession, menacing, resisting arrest and contempt of court.

"COUGAR" NO LONGER POLITICALLY CORRECT

Funny how words and their meanings change over the years. Canyons School District in Utah has decided against using the term "Cougars" as a mascot for a new high school in large part because -- well, the current vernacular carries the meaning of a "cougar" being an older woman seeking a younger man. Superintendent David S. Doty said they decided to go with "Chargers" instead despite a poll showing 26 percent of the students were in favor of using the cougar. Doty says public comments reflect a desire to be different, but he also notes that some see the word cougar as carrying a "negative double entendre."

THE DEFINITION OF IRONY

You won't believe the latest bit of news to emerge following the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster. It seems Celine Dion's theme song from the movie Titanic was playing in one of the ship's restaurants as the ship began to turn over. Passengers Yannic Sgaga and his brother Kevin told Swiss paper La Tribune de Geneve that Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was playing when the accident happened off the Tuscan coast last Friday. The claim is one of several comparisons to the 1912 Titanic disaster - and the film - made by people aboard the Costa Concordia. It has also been revealed one of the survivors aboard the cruise ship is the grand-daughter of a woman who survived the Titanic disaster. 30-year-old Valentina Capuano had a grandmother and great uncle aboard the Titanic. Her great-uncle Giovanni, a waiter aboard the cruise liner, died. Fights over lifejackets and the desperation of people leaping off the side of the ship into the sea has also been compared to the ill-fated Titanic voyage. Other passengers have compared the delay in deploying lifeboats on the Concordia, meaning the vessel was tilted too far to use them, to the lack of lifeboats aboard the Titanic.

CHURCH DOUBLES AS TATTOO PARLOR

Flint, Michigan just got what might be a world's first. Rev. Steve Bentley says he's doing everything he can to reach out to people who have never felt comfortable at a traditional house of worship so he just opened a tattoo parlor inside his church! Bentley's church, The Bridge, occupies 3,000 square feet inside a Flint shopping center. Serenity Tattoo is located not far from his office - as well as a galvanized watering trough that he uses for baptisms. Two tattoo artists work at the county-licensed shop that is open every day except Sunday. He scoffs at his critics who claim a church is the wrong place for a tattoo parlor, saying tattooing is a "morally neutral" practice akin to having your ears pierced. And the good Rev. Bentley has two tattoos of his own.


WORST COUNTERFEITER... EVER

We have identified the worst counterfeiter of all time and he is 53-year-old Michael Fuller of North Carolina. Fuller allegedly tried to purchase a vacuum cleaner, a microwave oven and other items totally $476 from his local Walmart. To pay for his purchase he handed the checker a one-million dollar bill -- which he insisted was real. Of course the largest American bill currently in circulation is $100. The government stopped making bills of up to $10,000 in 1969. Mr. Fuller was charged with attempting to obtain property by false pretense and uttering a forged instrument.